But something must have happened between then and now for the boss to change his tune. Tiernan might not have slept with her, but it took less than a week living with Rosa to change his mind and make him care about her welfare. It will be a cold day in hell before my loyalty could shift towards the cartel prince, but I gave him my word where his sister’s safety is concerned, and now I will do the same for Tiernan. Although it took the boss this long to see the writing on the wall, I’ve known since the beginning that Rosa would need to be protected.
It’s because of Rosa and the other sacrificial families’ daughters that there was a ceasefire in the Mafia Wars, after all.
But peace is a tenuous brittle thing.
It only takes one person’s malicious actions to light the fuse on this dynamite keg of a treaty and blow up ten years of arduous, peaceful negotiations. And what better way to do it than to eradicate the very thing that was sacrificed in the name of peace.
With that thought in mind, I get up from my seat and start to head out the door.
“Should I take that as a yes?” Tiernan utters behind me, a tinge of mirth to his voice.
“I’ll keep her safe. You have my word,” I concede and leave him to his business.
I pass the busy open office space and head towards the elevator as fast as my feet can take me. Tiernan might feel at home here in this large skyscraper—making sure that the Kelly’s clean, reputable construction business casts a large enough shadow to hide his criminal empire—but I, for one, hate it here. I have never liked being cooped up between four walls, especially this high up, where the exits only lead to stairwells that would take a good fifteen minutes to get down to the ground floor. But that’s not the only reason why I don’t like coming here. I prefer the grime and dirt of the streets over the sweet smell of fancy lattes and pastries in a boardroom. Give me busted-up knuckles, some cracked ribs, and sweat pouring down my brow after a heist any day of the week. Hustling on the streets compared to claustrophobic cubicles, boring computer screens with open Word documents filled with endless jargon, or the backstabbing that happens between colleagues just to get a leg up in the business world, just feels like it’s a more honest way to make a buck.
I leave that ugly monotonous part of the business to the boss.
Tiernan is a chameleon in that regard.
He can hold meetings in a boardroom just as easily as he can conjure fear in a dark back alley.
I’m not as versatile.
When I finally step out of the Kelly’s main headquarters, I rush to get into my car and drive over to The Liberty Hotel, intent on getting down to business. When I arrive at the floor of Tiernan and Rosa’s hotel suite, I turn to Darren, one of the higher-ranked soldiers standing guard, and ask him to fill me in on all of Rosa’s coming and goings.
“Not much to tell. Since she’s arrived, she hasn’t left the suite. Not once. Unless you count the time she left to get married. Other than that, she’s stayed put,” Darren explains with a shrug.
She’s been in Boston for five days now, and all she’s seen is the inside of a fancy prison cell. Maybe Shay is right. Maybe Tiernan is taking this a bit too far.
“Fair enough. I’ll ask Mrs. Kelly what her plans are for today and the rest of the week. That way we can arrange a schedule between myself and your guards.”
Darren offers his agreement to my plan then stands to the side so I open the double doors to the penthouse suite and formally introduce myself as part of Rosa’s security entourage.
The instant my eyes land on her though, I freeze to my spot and lose my train of thought.
Rosa is sitting on the floor, hugging her knees so that they are pressed against her chest, while she watches over the Boston skyline. She doesn’t have to turn my way for me to tell that she’s been crying. Uncomfortable with witnessing such a private moment, I clear my throat to make her aware that she’s no longer alone in the room. She wipes whatever tears remain and puts on a smile before she turns to face me. Instead of saying hello, or some other bullshit people say in greeting, she tilts her head to the side and just stares at me. When a few minutes pass, and neither of us say anything, I take a few more steps into the room, pretending to take in the surroundings instead of looking straight at her.
“It’s Colin, isn’t it?” she asks, her voice soft and delicate.
I nod, taking another step closer to her.
“We’ve met before. You came to pick me up at the airport.”
Another nod. Another step.
“You were at my wedding, too.”